Legal Articles and Guides
ConCourt finds for children in parents' clash with school
The Constitutional Court has ruled that private (or independent) schools may no longer rely on contracts with parents as the basis for kicking children out of school without a fair hearing, notes a GroundUp report.
Dlamini-Zuma hints at easing tobacco ban
The government is considering phasing out the ban on the sale of tobacco products under Covid-19 lockdown regulations, but this does not necessarily mean they will be for sale in the nearest supermarket any time soon.
FF Plus challenges constitutionality of DMA
The Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) will hear the FF Plus challenge to the constitutionality of the Disaster Management Act and the validity of the decision to declare a National State of Disaster today.
Business takes on activists in 'novel' case
In two days of hearings which took place via Zoom this week, the Western Cape High Court has heard arguments relating to the right of big companies to sue individuals for defamation – versus the rights of activists and lawyers to publicly voice criticism of big companies.
Quick judgment expected in tobacco wars battle
Judgment has been reserved on the lockdown cigarettes ban, but will be expedited via e-mail, after the first stanza of the increasingly bitter tobacco wars battle between the corporate world and government was heard in the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) yesterday.
Disrupt inheritance to spread the wealth
In his latest offering on his Constitutionally Speaking blog, Pierre de Vos has proposed SA should do away with the transfer of 'intergenerational wealth' via inheritance or heavily tax inheritance as a form of redistribution of wealth.
DA takes on 'arbitrary' hairdressing ban
The DA has taken government to court over the continued lockdown on hairdressers and other personal-care service providers, says a TimesLIVE report.
No affidavit from Ramaphosa in tobacco battle
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office has denied he was trying to distance himself from the government’s controversial cigarette ban after a tobacco lobby group questioned his non-involvement in the state’s legal defence of the decision, notes a Business Day report by legal writer Karyn Maughan.
Elite schools feel heat on Black Lives Matter
The death of George Floyd and the ensuing Black Lives Matter protests around the world have reverberated in some of SA’s elite schools, with black pupils and alumni speaking out against the racism they experienced, says a Sunday Times report.
SCA ruling returns land to Prudhoe community
The Prudhoe community might finally get their land back, including the Fish River Sun hotel, after a 22-year battle made worse by what some believe was shocking obfuscation and incompetence by the Restitution of Land Rights Commission.
Call for eviction ban to be extended
Forty social justice organisations have written to government to reinstate the blanket ban on evictions. According to an EWN report, when lockdown level five regulations were implemented, the Justice Minister stated that all evictions and execution of attachment orders would be suspended.
Dlamini-Zuma risks contempt action over tobacco ban
Co-operative Governance & Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma faces the prospect of being pursued for contempt after missing a court-ordered deadline to file an answer to the first major legal challenge to the government’s controversial cigarette ban, says a Business Day report by legal writer Karyn Maughan.
Court blocks forced Covid-19 quarantine
In another stinging setback for the government, the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) ruled yesterday that the state may not force patients who test positive for Covid-19 into compulsory state quarantine if they are able to self-isolate.
State in another bid to delay tobacco ban challenge
The government has made a second attempt to delay the hearing of the first major legal challenge to the controversial cigarette ban, appealing to court again for the matter to be delayed, says a Business Day report.
Dlamini-Zuma asked to explain hairdressers ban
The DA’s lawyers have written to Co-Operative Governance & Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma seeking reasons for the ‘irrational and arbitrary’ ban on reopening personal care businesses such as hairdressers – threatening to go to court if no answer is forthcoming.
